By now, everyone had realized they'd been played. Jiang Cheng had heard before that the Candle Bearer was skilled at laying plans. He was the one responsible for keeping in contact with the Old President, and that alone made him even more crucial to the Night Watch's plans than the dead president.
All those people who had died—the top experts on the Night Watch's side, the Nuo opera master, the old eunuch, the Human-Skin Scholar, Xiu Niang—had all been part of the Candle Bearer's plan. He had even cut off his own right hand to make the act seem more convincing.
Number One had been dead for a long time. This had clearly been a trap set specifically for Jiang Cheng!
The Night Watch had split the group apart to get Number One's body. The monkey-like creature that had crawled out of it was also a disciple. That was its ability.
"Bastard!" A Dark Army member wearing a baseball cap glared at the man on the ground and roared, "Weren't you dead? We saw you die with our own eyes! Your corpse was burned to ashes in that fire!"
"Heh, of course I faked my death. I had someone secretly switch the body. How else could I have fooled Old Man?" The Candle Bearer was growing ever more smug. Over the years, he and Old Man had fought openly and in secret countless times. He'd lost more often than he'd won, but at least he'd won the most important one. The Night Watch would be the last ones standing.
"Old Man, the president thinks highly of you, and so do I. If you can persuade these people to put down their weapons, I swear on the name of the Night Watch that I won't kill anyone except Jiang Cheng and